Choosing the Right Radio Format for Your Target Audience

Ever since the advent of television in the 1940s, people have been forecasting the death of radio. However, more than 60 years later, radio is still relevant to advertisers. And rather than decreasing, the number of radio formats is growing and they have become more segmented as the decades have gone on.

“It’s the only medium you don’t have to look at,” says Dave Hoeffel, the East Coast representative for the All Access radio group and a disc jockey on satellite radio. “You can’t use any other major medium when driving a car," when most radio is listened to.

Marketers have more choices than ever when deciding how to allocate their radio advertising budgets. The various radio formats lend themselves to a huge range of listeners. Knowing what radio formats target what demographics is key to a successful radio advertising campaign.

Here, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau, are the top radio formats in the United States:

• Country: Country is the top format in terms of the number of stations that carry it. It is a broad format that covers classic country to mainstream, including performers who are considered “crossover” artists. The irony is that although country is the No. 1 format nationwide, there are no country stations in the New York City market, the nation’s largest. Country is most popular in areas of less ethnic diversity, such as the South and the Midwest, and tends to tilt toward older listeners.
• News/talk: This is a broad category with the biggest audience in the nation, according to analyst Robert Unmacht, who ran a database tracking radio formats for 15 years known as the Radio Journal or the Radio Book, which is owned by Clear Channel. “News/talk is a big bundle, especially if you include all the NPR [National Public Radio] and sports stations,” says Unmacht. Sports, he says, is “growing at an astounding rate,” so fast, it could be classified as a separate format. Men between the ages of 45 and 54 are the main demographic for this format.
• Oldies or classic hits: These stations primarily play anything released from 1963 on; most have dropped “doo-wop” songs from their playlists. They prefer to be known as “classic hits” stations because “oldies” connotes a certain age of listeners. Men between the ages of 45 and 54 comprise most of the loyal audience.
• Adult contemporary: Geared primarily to women ages 35 to 44, this format began in the early 1970s and has successfully replaced what used to be known as easy listening or MOR (middle of the road) stations. As many as six different flavors of adult contemporary, or AC, exist, such as hot AC, which is top 40 without rap music, and soft AC.
• Hispanic: Next to sports, the fastest-growing format is Hispanic, which includes music, news, or talk formats broadcast in Spanish. “This format still has room to grow,” says Unmacht. “Radio has not caught up with the number of listeners in its market yet.” This category is very broad and encompasses Spanish-speaking men and women listeners age 18 and up.
• Adult standards: This is one format that is on the decline, according to Unmacht. These artists, such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, and Kenny Rogers, appeal to listeners who are 55-plus, a demographic that advertisers are less interested in targeting.
• Top 40: Also known as CHR, or contemporary hit radio, Top 40 refers to the Billboard magazine charts, considered the industry bible. Comprised of listeners between the ages of 18 and 34, the format faded for a while, according to Unmacht, but has come back. Top 40 does reach listeners younger than 18. The belief that young people eschew listening to radio in favor of downloading music is a myth, says Hoeffel. “They may not be listening as often, but they still listen. The radio is where they first hear the songs they’re putting on their iPods,” he said.
• Soft adult contemporary: The home of Celine Dion, this format is among the most popular of the different flavors of adult contemporary and appeals to women between the ages of 35 and 54.
• Religion: This format can include anything from popular Christian music to teachings, Catholic masses, gospel, and firebrand-type ministry. Employed mothers between the ages of 25 and 44 are the primary listeners.
• Classic rock: This format will “hold its own until all the baby boomers go,” says Unmacht. Artists such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Doors, and U2 are the heart of classic rock. Many stations’ playlists overlap these with the classic hits format, giving it the same demographic: men between the ages of 45 and 54.